The offensive "purity" sign carried by a group Beitar Jerusalem fans.Photo Credit: Flash90

Like Europeans, Israelis are mad for their soccer. For some, soccer is the true religion of the Middle East, one shared by Muslims and Jews alike.

But just as in Europe, not all soccer fans follow the normal rules of civility, and the behavior of some fans of one Israeli soccer team in particular, Jerusalem Beitar, has been reprehensible. Beitar was the last of the 30 Israeli soccer teams without any Muslim players. The anti-Muslim racism of its fans has led to Beitar being banned from some soccer matches and being fined, as well as having demonstrations by Israelis denouncing their behavior.

When Beitar management last week brought in two Muslims from Chechnya to join the team, the response by the haters was ugly, if not unexpected. Despite official efforts to celebrate the inclusion of Muslims into the Beitar family as an important Israeli value, some fans responded at a game over the weekend with shameful calls for “Beitar purity,” and unfurled a vicious banner: “Beitar, pure forever.”

But today’s New York Timesstory about the incident is shocking in its narrow focus and excessive reliance on Israel haters to suggest that the racism of the worst Beitar fans accurately reflects Israeli society.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center told The Jewish Press by telephone from Berlin, “You want to know what “mirrors” Israeli society? Walk in the Mamilla Mall on a Saturday night, Arabs and Israelis, Muslims and Jews, all strolling, eating and shopping together – that’s the mirror of Israeli society.”

The official response to the boorishness was swift and unequivocal: the team was fined 50,000 NIS ($ 13,400) and 50 of the worst offenders were banned from an upcoming match.

Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon slammed the ugly behavior, saying “I was shocked by the racism displayed in the Beitar Jerusalem stands yesterday against having Muslim or Arab players on the team.”

“We cannot ignore these displays of racism which not long ago were directed – and are still being directed – towards the Jewish people,” he wrote on Twitter.

And in a show of solidarity, Jerusalem’s Mayor Nir Barkat attended the Tuesday press conference welcoming the Muslim Chechen players, Zaur Sadayev and Gabriel Kadiev, who had previously played on the premier Russian team Terek Grozny.

Barkat said, “I want to tell viewers around the world that we will not put up with racism or violence. This is an ethical statement that goes out from Jerusalem to the world.”

And Beitar’s team captain Amit Ben-Shushan said at the press conference welcoming the new players, “We do not engage in politics. As far as we’re concerned, we will do our best to welcome the players in the best possible fashion.”

The Russian-born billionaire owner of Beitar, Arkady Gaydamak, rejected the nasty response to the new players, telling Israeli Army Radio last week that the “small group of so-called supporters of the team do not represent the general opinion of the Israeli public, and they should not be allowed to win.”

No one suggests there is no racism in Israel or amongst Israeli sports fans – far from it. A horrible incident received a lot of attention last spring when Beitar fans, chanting “death to the Arabs” after a game in Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium poured into the nearby Malha Mall, where Arab workers were allegedly assaulted by some participants.

But the only “experts” quoted in the NYT article are ones whose professional livelihood is built and dependent upon denouncing Israel as a racist society.

For example, Professor Moshe Zimmerman, chair of Hebrew University’s German Studies Department, is quoted as expressing strong support for the article’s headline, that the racist Beitar fans reflect Israeli society.

It might have been useful for readers of the NYT article to know that Zimmerman was chastised by the relatively restrained Anti-Defamation League as far back as 2005, for repeatedly comparing the Israeli Defense Forces and authorities to Nazis.

Yet the NYT writer places Zimmerman as the first expert in the article. “People in Israel usually try to locate Beitar Jerusalem as some kind of the more extreme fringe; this is a way to overcome the embarrassment,” and Zimmerman continues, “the fact is that the Israeli society on the whole is getting more racist, or at least more ethnocentric, and this is an expression.”

About the Author:Lori Lowenthal Marcus is the US correspondent for The Jewish Press. She is a recovered lawyer who previously practiced First Amendment law and taught in Philadelphia-area graduate and law schools. You can reach her by email: Lori@JewishPressOnline.com

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How many people around the world are aware that Muslims routinely play on Israeli soccer teams? To be honest, I was surprised that Beitar is such an exception. The opposite is certainly not the case. Indeed, I would like someone to look into how many Jews or Christians play soccer on Muslim country teams.

Just typical of the hate Israel media. People are slaughtered at soccer games in Europe and South America and recently 80 dead in Egypt. Worry about that first. Some Jews are tired of being targeted for death by the muslim world and this is how they (inappropriately) show their anger. But Jews condemn this anyway, not so hate Jews rhetoric etc from muslims countries!

It has to be recognized, understood and widely reported that the NYT is not about objectivity when it comes to Israel and the Jews. It's about propagating and reinforcing its narrative. Jews are racist, hate mongering, perpetrators of evil and violence against Palestine indiscriminately murdering Palestinian innocents with no provocation. Muslims are innocent victims of undeserved violence and hatred under constant attack by the Zionists and their Zionist supporters.

Has a fervent, heart rending, gut wrenching ring to it but it's a lot of crap requiring constant attention to maintain. No one should be surprised at this other than that is occurring with increasing frequency and perhaps urgency. In these modern days and the ubiquity of the Internet, the lie is becoming increasingly difficult to disguise.

It has to be recognized, understood and widely reported that the NYT is not about objectivity when it comes to Israel and the Jews. It's about propagating and reinforcing its narrative. Jews are racist, hate mongering, perpetrators of evil and violence against Palestine indiscriminately murdering Palestinian innocents with no provocation. Muslims are innocent victims of undeserved violence and hatred under constant attack by the Zionists and their Zionist supporters.

Has a fervent, heart rending, gut wrenching ring to it but it's a lot of crap requiring constant attention to maintain. No one should be surprised at this other than that is occurring with increasing frequency and perhaps urgency. In these modern days and the ubiquity of the Internet, the lie is becoming increasingly difficult to disguise.

The one thing wrong about this, in a Muslim society this would be normal. Why do we try so hard to please the West. I'm not advocating racism. But as long as the Muslims are racist against the Jews and as long as Israel cannot live in peace, we shouldn't worry too much what other countries say. Yes take care of behavior like that but don't worry too much about it. Israel is doing okay and it's one of the most accepting countries in all of the Middle East if not the world.

The one thing wrong about this, in a Muslim society this would be normal. Why do we try so hard to please the West. I'm not advocating racism. But as long as the Muslims are racist against the Jews and as long as Israel cannot live in peace, we shouldn't worry too much what other countries say. Yes take care of behavior like that but don't worry too much about it. Israel is doing okay and it's one of the most accepting countries in all of the Middle East if not the world.

Israel by extension of the Jewish people is supposed to be a light unto the world. While it's newsworthy that there's another story Jewish Press posted about Italian soccer players honoring a Jewish coach martyred in the Shoa, European Soccer (sorry from my USA perspective Football is played in the Super Bowl) madness is well known. It's not newsworthy, and they drink in the Xenophobia with their mothers' milk. It's irrelevant what happens in other nations, there is a part of Israeli society that has to look itself critically in the eye while maintaining standards of mentschichkeit. Perhaps all nations can look to North American professional sports who understand community relations and strive to field the best teams from all talent available.

Eli Beer stunned the 16,500 AIPAC conference participants by arriving on stage with lights and sirens blaring on an ambucycle, a specially equipped motorcycle ambulance designed by United Hatzalah to speed up emergency response times.